A typical aircraft propulsion system may include an engine having an engine fan module and an engine core or hot section, as well as a nacelle inlet and/or a primary exhaust plug and nozzle. The engine components occasionally require maintenance, removal, and/or replacement.
Aircraft propulsion systems mounted on aft fuselage, or empennage, are a challenge to maintenance personnel for ready access and ergonomics. Tall stands are generally required to gain access to these propulsion systems. For example, in single-aisle, 150-seat class aircrafts with open-rotor propulsion systems, the rotor diameters may exceed fourteen feet in diameter. Positioned high on the aft fuselage, these installations are a considerable distance above the ground and therefore difficult to reach.
It is also difficult to perform an engine change on a high-mounted propulsion installation, partially due to the size and weight of the propulsion unit. In current aircraft propulsion systems, even if only the engine core requires off-wing maintenance, the entire aircraft propulsion system must be removed. This requires robust ground support equipment (GSE) and navigating the cumbersome fan module with its fourteen foot diameter rotor disc around the aircrafts nearby pylon, tail, and fuselage structures.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method of mounting and demounting an aircraft propulsion system that overcomes the limitations of the prior art.